Scary-looking zombies were driven from St Albans’ city centre last week when torrential rain cut short filming for an eBay advertisement.

But the living dead soon returned at nightfall to complete their work for the commercial, due to air next month.

The city’s landmark Town Hall was turned into an impressive backdrop during filming last Friday (15), with Market Place brought to life - despite an actor holding a sign warning “The End is Nigh”.

Actors were based inside the Town Hall, not only for hair and make-up, but to use the former Merchant Tea and Coffee café to rest between takes – and to stay dry when it poured with rain throughout the afternoon.

Scores of interested visitors stopped and watched the action unfold in the open, as take after take was shot, with actors having to repeatedly walk and cycle across the front of the Town Hall, as an elderly man brandished a sign warning that the end of the world was approaching.

London-based MJZ Productions said the commercial was loosely based on a zombie movie, which basically depicts zombies at the early stage of taking over Market Place in St Albans.

Filming took place in small 60-second bursts, and involved zombies lurking around the city centre, along with background actor shoppers.

The firm said that the filming had been organised in conjunction with St Albans district and Herts county councils, Herts Police and Creative England.

A county council spokesman welcomed the filming, saying, “Our highways team has worked closely with the production company.

“This location shoot is just one example of how the Filming on the Highway Act we passed through Parliament in 2014 has simplified the way companies can get permission to film on our roads and attracted more production companies to Hertfordshire.

“The county is a popular destination for filming, with world-class studios at Elstree and Leavesden, and Creative England estimate that location filming brings more than £8 million into Hertfordshire’s economy every year.”